Long-term cognitively challenging experiences modulate metabolite concentrations in the healthy brain: the case of bilingualism

Abstract

Cognitively demanding experiences, including complex skills acquisition and processing, have been shown to induce brain adaptations, at least at the macroscopic level, e.g. on brain volume and/or functional connectivity. However, the neurobiological bases of these adaptations, including at the microstructural cellular level, remain poorly understood. Here we use bilingualism as a case study to investigate the microscopic correlates of experience-based brain adaptations. We employ Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to measure concentrations of metabolites in the ventral striatum, a region critical to language control which is reshaped by bilingualism. Our results revealed increased concentration of myo-Inositol in bilinguals compared to monolinguals. This metabolite is linked to synaptic pruning, a process underlying experience-based brain restructuring. Crucially, concentration was predicted by relative amount of bilingual engagement. Our results suggest that (degree of) long-term cognitive experiences have measurable effects at the microcellular level, which might accompany, if not drive, the observed macroscopic brain adaptations.

Effects of four-month-long foreign language learning on executive functions and white matter integrity in older adults

“…Furthermore, there is a significant gap in longitudinal studies examining the effects of foreign language learning on structural brain changes and cognition in healthy older adults. It remains unclear whether foreign-language learning can provide neuroprotection when administered later in life (Freedman et al, 2014; Perani and Abutalebi, 2015; Pliatsikas et al, 2020).…”